John McGinn has added his voice to the chorus of players who fear football’s crammed fixture schedule will damage their health.
The Aston Villa skipper has echoed the words of Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who even floated the possibility of a player strike, and Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. All raised the alarm about the number of games top players are required to tackle.
Villa will face at least eight matches in the revamped Champions League, with manager Unai Emery challenging his squad to finish in the top four of the Premier League for a second straight season. Emery has also vowed to take the domestic cups seriously as Villa try to break a trophy drought that has lasted since 1996.
‘We are fortunate to be paid well for doing a job we absolutely love,’ said McGinn, who is also a key man for Scotland. ‘No-one is getting away from that but at times with the mental side of things you need to switch off.
‘Initially, when we first got into European competition, it was a case of “Keep the games coming”. But it is hard to churn them out when you are playing 70-plus games a season and then you’re playing international games.
Aston Villa star John McGinn joined players in voicing concerns over the crammed calendar
Manchester City midfielder Rodri claimed players are close to striking over the fixture list
Aston Villa face a packed calendar with both domestic and European commitments
‘There’s not a lot of time to rest, so they need to get the balance a bit better and there’s a lot of people pushing for that.
‘People’s health is the most important thing and hopefully we can come to some sort of happy balance. Football at this level brings amazing highs and tremendous lows.
‘At the end of the season you just want to go, ‘Hands up, I’m done.’ But now the teams involved in the Club World Cup are not going to have any time to do that.’
Manchester City will be involved in that competition, scheduled for next July, and could play up to 73 games this season.
‘I think we are close to that [striking],’ Rodri said. ‘It’s easy to understand [why]. Ask any player and they’d say the same. If it keeps going this way it’ll come to a moment where we have no other option. It is something that worries us.’